The Hort Innovation Speak Up Hotline is an independent and confidential service available to receive and triage information relating to misconduct, unlawful or unethical behaviour and supports Hort Innovation’s  Code of Conduct and Business Ethics and Whistleblower Policy.

Any breaches of the Code of Conduct and Business Ethics and related policies, and serious issues that may adversely affect Hort Innovation such as any criminal offences, breach of legal obligations, harassment or bullying.  You can also raise serous complaints through this service. Whilst Stopline will receive the information form you they generally do not investigate matters on behalf of Hort Innovation.  They will triage reports to designated senior staff at Hort Innovation, usually the Hort Innovation Whistleblower Protection Officers.

Hort Innovation understands that you may not always want to raise matters through Hort Innovation’s other direct channels, although this is encouraged.  Stopline is an independent avenue for you to raise matters which involve misconduct and/or an improper state of affairs at Hort Innovation.

We encourage you to report matters through Hort Innovations other direct channels.  If for any reason you do not wish to do so you can contact Stopline:

Phone: 1300 304 550
NRS – National Relay Service
Email:  [email protected]
Post: Hort Innovation c/o Stopline PO Box 403, Diamond Creek V Victoria 23089
Website: horticulture.stoplinereport.com

Stopline has people experienced in handling sensitive information from stakeholders.

Stopline is an Australian company which specialises in providing integrity/whistleblowing services. It has been operating for over a decade and assists listed and private companies, local, state and Commonwealth public sector bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Further details are available at www.stopline.com.au

No. Your call to Stopline can, if you wish, be anonymous and the staff of Stopline will not ask for any personal details. You may volunteer the information anonymously to Stopline if you desire or you can be overt. If you do not wish to remain anonymous, this information may be provided to Hort Innovation. If you choose to remain anonymous Stopline will issue a confidential reference and password should you wish to seek the status of your disclosure at some later date.

Hort Innovation is committed to the protection of genuine whistleblowers against action taken in reprisal for the making of protected disclosure.  Maintaining confidentiality is a crucial component of this protection. All disclosures will be treated with a high level of confidentiality. Hort Innovation has appointed Stopline to enhance confidentiality and anonymity within Hort Innovation with respect to whistleblower procedures.

Stopline enables employees, officers of the company, contractors, suppliers of services or goods and the spouse, relatives or dependants of the referenced people who have reasonable grounds to suspect misconduct and/or improper state of affairs at Hort Innovation to easily report these through various methods. Stopline is an independent organisation with trained staff who will receive your concerns confidentially (anonymously if you wish) and provide the confidential information to the designated Hort Innovation staff member for further investigation. The program then necessitates procedural requirements dealing with and finalising the outcome of the disclosure. Stopline may, from time to time be requested by Hort Innovation to investigate matters on its behalf.

A person within Hort Innovation is responsible for ensuring that all serious complaints are handled appropriately. The Whistleblower Protection Officer is responsible for Hort Innovation’s role in managing disclosures and being the contact point for both Stopline and Hort Innovation.  The Whistleblower protection officers are currently the General Manager of People and Culture and the General Counsel.

You can contact Stopline when you have reasonable grounds to suspect misconduct or improper state of affairs at Hort Innovation such as fraudulent, corrupt, unlawful or unethical conduct at Hort Innovation.

You can call Stopline on 1300 30 45 50 (in Australia) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  A Stopline investigator will answer your call during business hours (0800–1800 Mon–Fri AEST).  Any messages left with our overnight team will be responded to within one working day. You can also send your disclosure via the internet (this website), email, or mail.

The strength of Stopline is that all allegations will be professionally managed by trained Stopline staff. The experience of Stopline is that vexatious calls occur very infrequently. Stopline focuses on the message, not the messenger. The Whistleblower Protection Officer may decline to investigate the matter if satisfied that the disclosure is trivial, frivolous or vexatious.

In general you will be kept advised about the status of the report, decisions made regarding how the matter is to be handled, time frames that apply and the result of any investigation and action taken as that information is communicated with Stopline. If you choose to remain anonymous, you will be issued with a confidential reference and password and must initiate contact through one of the methods outlined on the home page to receive feedback.

Hort Innovation will use all reasonable efforts to protect the individual from reprisals; however the act of reporting improper conduct may not shield the person from the reasonable consequences flowing from any involvement in serious misconduct.

The Hort Innovation Code of Conduct and Business Ethics and Whistleblower Policy can be found at:

 Hort Innovation | Corporate governance (horticulture.com.au)